Power of the Net

I woke up this morning a bit groggy, still recovering from the cumulative exhaustion of being on the road for the past two months or so without a break. Facing an unreasonable mountain of work, I did the only reasonable thing possible: procrastinate.

So I took a quick look at my website data, and stumbled upon something really cool. While I was running around the region taking photos, writing articles and making a fool of myself under the guise of work, people from all around the world visited this blog. Here's a list of the places from which this blog received visits recently:

Besides the obvious places like Singapore, Japan, the US, etc. there are countries on the list that I've never heard of, much less visited.

And there are the incredibly sneaky people who've somehow managed to elude the all-knowing internet Gods. They've been logged as visiting from: Asia/ Pacific Region, Europe...and my personal favourites - (not set) and Anonymous Proxy. Hmmm, perhaps I'm being monitored by some covert operation hell-bent on discovering the mystical secrets of underwater photography? Nah, what a colossal waste of time that would be!

What's really amazing about this in the context of the real world is the frequency with which I have conversations with people in the dive industry who say/ believe some version of "The internet is useless." Seriously, this is an all-too-common view in the dive industry.

Far too many people still believe the internet is a fad, that it's not effective, or that it's "not for them". You can imagine how frustrated I get with people like this...people who cling to the old and ignore changes like an ostrich hiding its head in the sand, hoping never to face reality.

Of course, if you're reading this, then you're proof that the internet is awesome. How else could I reach someone in Benin, Slovakia, Lithuania, Burkina Faso or Anonymous Proxy?

So all you visitors from far-flung places...leave me a comment, or send me a note via my contact form. The power of the internet to forge bonds across national boundaries is truly amazing.